Best Cabin Camping near Boone, NC

This is a brand new tent and cabin campground built by Duke Energy and run by McDowell county on Lake James. There is a boat ramp very close by, a fishing dock, picnic area, trails in and around the campground, and a seasonal Black Bear Marina Restaurant across the inlet or not far by road. All sites have tent pads and 2 parking spots. Many of the sites are a short walk from the car which affords privacy. There is a rental picnic shelter and a group csmping site. The rental camping cabins have 2 cots with a plywood base,( bring a mattress!).

I enjoyed the drive out to this site, it is far enough off of the beaten path but still close to town. The site is a very easy drive to Boone and Tweetsie Railroad. We stayed at a camping cabin and it was really nice. The RVs are close to each other in proximity and RV sites are not separated by any brush or trees. We walked the country road for a nice walk each day. Overall it was a really nice KOA if you are in the area and wanting to explore Boone.

I like this campsite. You have to be careful to book the correct kind of tent site if you want to be in a more wooded area. The camping cabins are really nice and spacious. It's a good site with some really good breakfast spots located just right next to the campsite itself

The staff here is INCREDIBLY friendly and the check-in building/store is small but mighty, offering items like local honey, local preserves and camping/swimming/tubing accessories.

We stayed in the camping cabins located on the hill behind the store. It was so quiet & offered a beautiful view of the river from the picnic table. We took part in one of the offered tubing experiences and it was so cool. You can rent a tube to place a cooler inside of so you can tube down the river with beverages and snacks in tow. The end of the rafting experience puts you right there back at the campsite.

This is a great place.

Grandfather Campground is located about 15 minutes south of Boone NC and less than 10 minutes from the trailhead to Grandfather Mountain.  

There is a new sign for the Grandfather Campground directly off HWY 105.  Pulling in, you drive over a bridge with a beautiful view of the creek and immediately see an office to your right and a large grassy area and private gazebo to your left (I do not think the campground owns this gazebo).  

RV's and tents occupy the first loop past the office.  On the left side of the road are several tent sites (too close for our preference - but in a pinch - it works!) On the right side of the road are RV sites that back up to the creek.  A bathhouse is centrally located for this loop.  As you continue on, you pass several simple camping cabins and then a variety of different sleeping arrangements depending on the size of your group.  There is  fishing and a playground but to us, the most valuable amenity of this site is the proximity to Grandfather Mountain.  We can be at the trailhead within 10 minutes for a great hike to the top of Grandfather Mountain!

Great sites right by the river for tents, various unique styles of “cabin camping” along the river and off the river, great staff (brings wood to you!) and if you have family members who don’t wanna rough it they have a great bar(beer, food, music)by the river with WIFI. Everybody wins. Launch your raft or theirs and enjoy the outdoors.

Black Bear Resort was about an hour from Boone NC. We had come to camp and do some section hiking of the Appalachian Trail. This campground was nice in many ways - there was a variety of camping available, from different homes/cabins to rent, to a bunkhouse, RV sites in the very back of the facility and tent sites down by the stream.

We were camping in early June, it was very quiet - in fact, we were the only tent campers! We camped down by the stream in tents and hammocks - close enough to be able to hear the trickle of the water all night long!

When we first pulled in, we were greeted by a gentleman on a golf cart. He offered to help us shuttle our supplies to the creek. We were car camping, but able to carry our supplies easily on the stone walkways. We walked past the one room cabins (most had 2 sets of bunk beds inside) and down to the creek edge where we set up camp.

We loved this campsite, due to the close nature to the water, easy accessibility for swimming, flush toilets and hot showers, the lack of poison ivy (at least that we ran into) and remote feeling provided.

This campground is good for the entire family. My extended family that RV camps could have stayed here with us, as well as other friends and family who prefer warm beds in cabins and houses. We'll surely be back!

If you love the Banner Elk, Grandfather mountain area, then I recommend this campground! You are surrounded by beautiful views of the mountains. Not far from Boone, and is basically next door to Grandfather Winery. Only thing I didn't like was the sites we stayed in near the office/general store were close to one another, but other sites for tents and campers didn't seem to have this problem. Will be staying at again!

Hungry Mother State Park, Royal Oak Campground, Marion VA...site 3. https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/hungry-mother

Campground Overview: Located outside of Marion VA

Hungry Mother State Park is somewhat split up and fragmented on either side of a local highway and the first campground is distanced from the other two. So a little different than most parks but not necessarily a negative.

The Visitor’s Center is on the left after the first campground (Camp Burson) and across the roadway from the reservoir and beach area. The remaining two campground loops are past the beach area...one to the right along a feeder stream (Creekside Campground) and opposite that is the third loop (Royal Oak Campground) on the side of a hill with wooden platforms for tents.

I was hoping to paddle this meandering reservoir but it was being drained for bridge work...so it was six feet or so lower than normal. Even the migrating geese weren’t too happy about it, as they waddled around on the mud.

During the peak of the summer season, it appears that it would be very popular with s nice swimming beach, paddlecraft rentals, cabin rentals, conference center, ample covered picnic pavilions and both paved and dirt trails.

I stayed on site 3 in Royal Oak Campground, pitching the tent on a 20’x20’ leveled wooden platform. Several pros and cons to elevated platforms.

Pros: It’s level and large enough for any tent I’ve ever seen. Water drains pretty decent between wood decking, so no pooling. D-ring lashing points were attached to the decking to assist in securing tent or rainfly.

Cons: When the cold wind blows, it’s hard to retain heat in the tent...360 cold. While there are D-ring lashing points, they don’t accommodate every tent of rainfly. Previous knucklehead campers drill Tapcon screws or nails in the wood decking and rails to secure their tent...then leave them there so everyone else snags or rips their tent on them.

It rained for 12 hours straight with cold, high winds...so it was a bit chilly, but still enjoyable.

What I enjoyed: deer wandering through the grounds, the Molly’s Knob Trail and Vista Summit,

The ugly: the lake (reservoir) was drained. Heaters weren’t on in the shower rooms...37 degree showering gets tricky.

We stayed here 10 days in our 34-foot travel trailer and were very happy with our stay. The campground is located on Hwy 105 heading down from Boone towards Linville. There are two grocery stores within a 5-minute drive (towards Banner Elk) and several restaurants close by as well. When you turn into the campground, you will cross a narrow 1-lane bridge across Watagua Creek. The office is located around a circle and there are several sites backed up against the creek. We stayed up the hill, where there are three lanes of diagonal pull thru sites sloping up the hill. The sites are fairly level, long but a little narrow. Because of the slope, there isn't much 'yard' space, just a platform with a picnic table. However, there is a large field to the east of the rows that is great for play (even has a decent playground) with a fantastic view of the mountains. There's a decent mix of people here for the weekend vs staying longer term. Up in the trees there looks to be campers that haven't moved in years. The store is decently stocked with camping odds and ends though no groceries. The bathrooms I didn't have much occasion to use, but I heard several people complain about them during the busy weekends (dirty and low on supplies). The laundry facilities are pretty icky, but they did the job. The wifi is decent when there aren't a lot of campers. Over the weekends, forget about it. Overall, I would stay here again and recommend to others.

This is a wonderful family campground with amazing people running the campground close to Boone and Banner Elk. There is a beautiful creek that runs through the property. Campsites are level. Bathhouse is adequate but they could use an additional restroom facility on the cabin/tent side of the creek. Only downside is the road noise from Hwy. 105 which can be extremely noisy.

Campsite Review:

About 20 minutes from Boone NC, a new parking area and approach trail begin the Profile hike.  This parking area has been in the works for years and we were excited to finally see the new bathhouse and extension of the trail.  

We parked near the bathhouse and filled out our slip (required of all campers and hikers) before climbing grandfather mountain.  Several additional campsites have been added in this area, as well as some being closed due to black bear activity.  

We hiked about 3 miles, past the creek, through rhododendron tunnels and through grassy gatherings of stinging nettles.  Our son told everyone we passed not to touch them, but that they could eat them!  

We made it to the Profile campsite - about a mile from the top, but a great campsite.  There are several great trees for hanging hammocks and two good tent pads sites.  This site also has bear cables for hanging food and items that the bears would deem interesting.  We were only here for half an hour before additional campers joined us.  They entered as loud, cursing college students, but changed their language upon seeing our youngest and were very friendly.  

We enjoy the campfire pit here best as it is surrounded by rocks that block the wind and make a fire possible at this elevation, but this trip ended in a severe thunderstorm and lots and lots of rain which made that impossible this time.  There are no facilities at this campsite - but this is a great intro to backpacking site to use as the hike is reasonable, both in length and elevation.  

Product Review:  

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products.  At this campsite, I tested the Mountain House Chicken Noodle Casserole which was delicious!!  https://www.mountainhouse.com/m/product/homestyle-chicken-noodle-casserole.html

We most commonly carry our own dehydrated concoctions or more basic meals, but I was pleasantly surprised by both the texture and taste of the Chicken Noodle Casserole.  2 adults and 1 child shared this meal (listed as 3 servings) and were pleasantly satisfied.  We rehydrated 2 pouches, but ended up eating the second pouch the next morning.  There were lots of vegetables and enough flavor (and salt) to satisfy the post hiking cravings.  Our son was especially pleased with this meal, as he said it tasted like chicken pot pie, one of his favorites!  

We boiled water at the beginning of our hike so we could refill waterbottles before heading up.  We usually hike to the top after setting up camp but with the weather looking chancy, we weren't going to risk hitting the spring.  I carried the rehydrating pouch up in my pack and ate about 2 hours later and it was NOT a mushy mess.  I added exactly 2 cups of water and it was perfect.  I can't stress that enough.  I have eaten so many mushy rehydrated meals on the Appalachian Trail, I nearly expect all freeze-dried meals to do the same.  

I would strongly recommend this meal, especially if you like chicken pot pie!

My two teenage boys and I stayed in a“Cozy Cabin”. They are bigger than they look in the picture. There is a countertop next to the front door and plenty of room for all of our gear. There is a water spigot and electrical outlet on the outside and two outlets inside the cabin. The resort is kind of small but there are a few playgrounds and a small pond to go swimming and fishing in, and several hiking trails. I was impressed with how clean the cabins and bathrooms were.

We stayed here during ski season and it was great! Not very busy, which was fine and only 15 mins to the ski slopes. That trip we had a great experience.

On another occasion, over Labor Day weekend, we tried to get a spot but they were ful. So we decided to rent one of their cabins. Upon arriving, we found out that they had switched our cabin to a different one then the one we had originally booked, and it was so small (which would have been okay, but we had a young baby who needed to sleep in a port-a-crib, which did not fit anywhere in the cabin) but the real issue was that there was mold on the ceiling and coming down some of the walls. We immediately went down to the office, at first we were told there was nothing they could do. After I went momma-bear on them and let them know I would not be staying in a moldy cabin with a baby and demanded my money back, they finally agreed and gave us a refund. Luckily I was able to find a hotel that still had a room available.

So long story short: great for camping, beware of cabins.

Friends and I rented a cabin here the 3rd time. It is simply beautiful. The mountains, creeks and nature are breathtaking. There are a lot of hiking trails near by. From easy to moderate… so something for everybody. The cabins are very nice and clean. They have everything you need. I would definitely recommend to stay here and enjoy this gem of nature.

This place is great. Wife and I stayed in the cabin. Owner of the camp is awesome. We had our own bathroom in the bath house. They also have big cabins, tent and RV spots. There is also a full size kitchen in the bath house. There is a e throwing, fire pit, ping pong, plenty of board games, tv’s, internet, great views, a small waterfall, and the best camp dog around (Gunner).